


Kanan The Cowboy

by AU_Writer



Series: Kanan The Cowboy [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: AU, Adventure, F/M, Family, Gen, Legends, Phantom - Freeform, Spirits, Street-rat, Western, Wild Horse Herd, Wilderness, cowboy, ghost - Freeform, small town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-25 02:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12025962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AU_Writer/pseuds/AU_Writer
Summary: Kanan is in the process of moving to Lothal where his girlfriend, Hera, has relocated to for more space for her two adopted children Sabine and Zeb. He will be working as a detective on the Lothal Police Force and his focus will be cold cases. His work is disrupted by talk of a phantom thief and a ghost-like herd of wild horses. The more he learns about the Phantom and the Ghost Herd, the more Kanan realizes that something happened in the past... What happened those long eight years ago? And is it possible that the Phantom knows the fate of Ezra Bridger and the truth behind Mira and Ephraim's death?Ezra has always known that Lothal was special, he just never knew why. For the past eight years he has survived, alone. Now the Imperials are on the rise, and he is determined not to let them take control. With the help of the "ponytail cowboy" Kanan Jarrus and his friends Hera, Sabine, and Zeb, Ezra is now facing his dark past to find the answers they need to take down the Imperial forces for good!





	1. Rumors of A Ghost

Chapter 1: Rumors of A Ghost

"I'll be there in about an hour, but I won't be able to swing by right away. I need to find the station so I can talk to my boss, check-in to my room at the hotel, and call the moving people so that they know to have my stuff ready to go in a few days. I'll call you back when I get into town. Love you." Kanan spoke into the phone to his girlfriend while he filled up his truck with gas. He and Hera had been together for nearly three years now, though they still weren't seriously romantic. They mainly just went on dates to enjoy each other's company and get away from Hera's two foster kids, well, kid and almost adult.  
Hera had moved to Lothal shortly after picking up her youngest foster child, Sabine Wren. Kanan and Hera had found her left for dead with the nearest hospital too far away to reach in time to save her. While they were attempting to save her life Hera's other foster child, a Lasat Indian boy named Garazeb Orellios, stepped in and made saving Sabine look easy. Hera decided on the move because her current place was a bit small for a teenager who was almost an adult and a dramatic teenage girl. Moving out to the "wild west" seemed like a good plan because it would give them plenty of room, and it was said to be therapeutic.  
It had been about a month since Hera had moved to Lothal and Kanan was just now following Hera there. He found it rather difficult to find a job since no one wanted to hire someone who hadn't gone to college or even finished high school, but the Lothal police force was independently run and were willing to hire him just because of what Hera had dragged him into three years ago on Gorse. There Hera had talked him into helping her bring a lawbreaking Imperial to justice, but because the guy went mad they had to kill him instead. Kanan was still looking for a place to stay in Lothal, as there weren't many good options within his price limit. He knew he could always ask Hera if he could stay with her for a bit, but he knew neither of them would be very comfortable with it. Living with his girlfriend before marrying her just seemed way too awkward to him, especially with the way his foster mother, Depa Billaba had brought him up. She had taught him to be the best man he could be, and to stay pure so that when he did marry it would be that much more special. If it weren't for her, Kanan knew he probably never would have developed good morals and a descent sense of right and wrong. It was one of the reasons he missed her so much, especially after losing her to a group of Imperial assassins on Kaller. If those assassins knew he was alive, knew that he could bring him to justice...he knew he couldn't take on all of them...just like Depa. She knew she couldn't win, but she knew she could give Kanan enough time to escape... Kanan hated how his last memory of her was so bittersweet.  
As the pump clicked to stop pumping gas, Kanan's stallion whinnied from the trailer. Kanan's stallion had a unique condition where his coat changed from black to a silvery white early on in his youth. Kanan had gotten him when he was only two years old and he was already getting silver flecks in his coat. By the time he was five he was completely silvery white. His eyes were a refreshing, ice blue and he had a descent record of escaping his stall and just about any pasture he was in. Over the five years Kanan had owned the horse, he had to go out searching for him almost a hundred times; hence why he named the horse Escape.  
Kanan laughed lightly as Escape half-heartedly kicked the door to the trailer while he was paying for the gas. The trailer was one of the only things that he couldn't escape, and he didn't like not being able to escape from places. "Just hold on buddy, we'll be there soon enough." Kanan promised the stallion, rubbing his nose through the bars. Escape lowered his head and snorted, as if in understanding but still not liking it.  
Back on the road, Kanan's mind drifted over everything that had happened in the past three years. He'd met Hera, rescued an Indian boy from a slave trader, and helped nurse a dying girl back to health. Every time life seemed to get normal for him, something else would come up that would shake it up again and if he was right then it was about time for it to happen again.  
His eyes wandered to the terrain after about half an hour of him thinking of the worst things that could happen to shake up his life again, he truly hoped that it wouldn't involve another kid joining the crew. The landscape had changed to tall, golden grass about waist high and in the distance there were dark mountains, probably covered with trees and dense undergrowth by the looks of it, and he was pretty sure there was a river somewhere nearby too. He glanced in the rearview mirror to see how Escape was taking it all in. The stallion was looking longingly at the fields away from the mountains, he let out a long neigh that Kanan recognized as beckoning for other horses to come to him. He glanced out of the side window and saw the horses Escape was calling, a small herd of wild horses.  
Kanan was surprised to see the horses come toward them, even though they were in a moving vehicle and on the unusual terrain of pavement. As they got closer, Kanan understood their willingness to come so close. They had no stallion. The lead mare galloped beside the trailer, nickering a hearty welcome to Escape as if the two were old friends. Kanan smiled and shook his head, he already knew that he would have to hunt down Escape tomorrow. Nothing would stop Escape from meeting a herd of mares with no other stallion to rival him.  
As he neared town, the herd broke off and headed for the mountains which were now much closer. He guessed that was as close as they would ever dare to get to civilization, but a part him was still debating whether he could catch and tame them. Kanan made sure to remember where he had last seen them, he would track their movements and see what he could do about catching them to start his own herd with Escape.  
Inside Capital City, the capital of Lothal, Kanan saw a lot of old, rundown looking buildings and several venders. It really didn't surprise him since he had seen bits of the Outer Rim Territories before, most of them were out-of-date compared to most Middle Rim Territories and were definitely out dated compared to Inner Rim Territories and the Core Colonies. Or course, it wasn't as bad as some of the other Outer Rim Territories he'd been to. Taking Gorse for example, Gorse had practically been a mud bowl. Even the slightest bit of rain caused all sorts of mudslides and sink holes.  
Kanan pulled into his hotel and went in to check in. The bottom of the hotel was a restaurant called Old Joe's, the hotel itself was called Nova. Kanan checked into his room and lugged his suitcases and baggage up to it. Then he was off to the police station to check in with his new boss, Sheriff Tano.  
Kanan hadn't talked to Sheriff Tano directly yet, the only communication they had was through Kanan's resume, emails, and Kanan's interview with the Deputy. He had heard a lot of the Sheriff though. Apparently, she acted as a criminal investigator, crime-scene investigator, game warden, and sheriff. It was an impressive list of stuff to do, which was probably why he'd hired Kanan without much consideration despite his lack of education. They needed him to help carry the weight of everything they had to do. Kanan figured that was why the pay was a bit better than an average officer's pay too.  
When Kanan arrived at the station, he met up with the Deputy, Rex. Ever since the first time he had met Rex, Kanan had known something was oddly familiar about him. He guessed that he would figure out what it was soon enough, but it was still driving him crazy.  
Rex led Kanan to the back of the police station where the Sheriff's office was located. Then he left with a hearty "Good luck!" that seemed to imply he was going to need more than just good luck. Kanan glanced back at Rex as he left and shrugged, high pressure situations never really bothered him unless his life was on the line...and he doubted it was going to be on the line going into the next room.  
Kanan knocked and entered the room with his head held high, he might have been a bit cautious and one of the things Depa had taught him to do in an iffy situation was to look like you were confident... "...because if you are confident, they will be less likely to attack you or even want to mess with you. Looking confident is like saying that you aren't afraid of anything and would rather die taking them down rather than doing nothing at all." The room was somewhat dark, but it wasn't because the lights were off. One of the lights had a dead bulb, the only thing that concerned him was how long it had been out. If it had been out since that morning or even the night before, then they probably didn't get a chance to change it yet. But if it had been out for a while it could be because they didn't care or used this room for some dark purpose...  
What am I thinking? Kanan mentally scolded himself. This is a police station! Not a cemetery, asylum, or haunted house! Nothing bad should happen here expect getting fired for some unknown reason! Gees, have I always been this cautious?  
Kanan didn't get a chance to answer himself as the Sheriff turned away from his desk and toward Kanan. He blinked in surprise as he realized that the sheriff wasn't a he, but a she. "You must be Kanan." She greeted him warmly. "My name is Asohka Tano, I'm glad to have you here with us."  
"And I'm glad to be here." Kanan replied. "I know I already told you that I don't actually have any experience or training that could qualify for this job, but I do have quick reflexes and a keen eye for details that most miss."  
"As I heard, I called in some favors and learned that you were one of the ones responsible for stopping a madman on Gorse. I'm impressed with your work, although I don't think you'll have to be killing anybody anytime soon here. Most of the stuff we deal with are land disputes, wild animal attacks, black market dealers, and thieves." Asohka explained. "The wildlife you'll be dealing with consists of foxes, badgers, coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, bears, possibly lynxes, and rattle snakes. That's only to name the predators though. Our quieter fauna includes white tail deer, the occasional passing of moose or elk, rabbits, mink, otters, beavers, owls, hawks, a few eagles, and of course wild horses."  
"Like the herd I saw on the way into town? The herd without a stallion." Kanan questioned.  
"Ah, yes, that's the Ghost herd. The lead mare is called the Ghost because no one can ever catch her, she always disappears right when you think you've got her. They say she's an actual ghost because she often carries the Phantom, a pick pocket who seems to be as much of an escape artist as she is." Asohka answered with a light chuckle. "The Ghost herd is the only herd that gets anywhere near close to town, and the Ghost herself is the only one of them who’s ever been in the town. She only comes in whenever the Phantom whistles for her. It's an eerie sound really, many believe that those two are the spirits of a boy and his horse from long ago, but why they're here now no one seems to know."  
"Interesting." Kanan commented, thinking to himself of how to prove that they weren't ghosts. Ghosts didn't exist. They couldn't be real. People either went to Heaven or to Hell when they died, they didn't roam the earth. That didn't rule out demons though...or angels... Could the Phantom be looking to harm somebody or something? Or where they trying to protect someone from harm? “What do you think of him?”  
"Oh, I think he's a teenager who for some unknown reason feels like he needs to steal money from people...either that or he comes from a poor home. If you look at the records of everything he's stolen then you'll see that other than money he also steals things like rope, antibiotic ointment, painkillers, knives, shoes, coats, food... What are you making of all this?" Asohka asked, seeing Kanan deep in thought.  
"I don't know. It almost sounds like he might be a runaway, but a smart runaway wouldn't stay in one place for so long. How long has he been stealing stuff?" Kanan perked up, if he'd just showed up then they could look at nearby cities for runaway children. If he had been here for a while he was likely from a poor family and stealing stuff that they needed but couldn't afford. In that case they would have to look at struggling families to see if any of them fit the criteria for being the Phantom's family.  
"According to how long he's been stealing stuff, almost eight years now." Asohka replied.  
"Woah. That's not what I was expecting." Kanan whistled.  
"Yeah, and he's stolen around ten thousand dollars’ worth of stuff." Asohka added.  
"Okay, well, that's...wow." Kanan shook his head. He'd been on the streets before, he'd gotten himself into some trouble before, but never anything this major. Ten thousand dollars in eight years without getting caught...  
"We'll talk more about him once you get familiar with the area though. You obviously seem interested in him so maybe I'll let you handle his file when you get settled in. For now, I want you to consider taking on an old disappearance case. None of the other guys on the force have been able to get anything from it, but I was hoping after hearing what you did on Gorse that you might be able to figure something out here." Asohka explained as she handed him a file titled "Bridger, Ezra". "You don't have to work on it until Monday when you start work unless you just want too. That's all for now. Good luck!"  
Kanan nodded his goodbye and left the station. He glanced at the file when he got to his truck. Ezra Bridger...missing at age seven...parents killed by mountain lion...child's body not found...tracks out to barn...all horses gone...short blood trail... It appeared to anyone just glancing over the file that the kid had been dragged off by the mountain lion, except Kanan noticed one thing wrong with that story. There were no mentioned drag marks...no sign of struggle...and none of the child's blood, only the parents. He shook his head and tossed the file to the passenger's seat. He'd look more in depth at it later. He sent a text to Hera to let her know that he was on his way, and then he left for her new address. It'd be the first time he'd seen it since she'd moved in and he was curious to see what she had done with the place.  
It didn't surprise Kanan to see Hera, Sabine, and Zeb waiting for him on the front porch when he pulled up. Zeb offered to take Escape to the stables and Sabine followed him. They both loved Kanan's horse. Zeb loved him because of how good his genetics were and Sabine loved him because of how beautiful he was. Hera's new place had a barn that she was more than willing to let Kanan use for Escape until he got a place of his own.  
While Zeb and Sabine were fussing over Escape, Kanan and Hera were enjoying a warm reunion. They talked about what had happened while the other was gone for a bit and then they began to talk about the move over. Kanan and Hera both agreed that it was a lovely area with plenty of room for one to spread out.  
Hera had made a large dinner for Kanan finally finding a job in Lothal. As they ate, Sabine began to ask him several questions about it, most of which were questions he wouldn't be able to answer until he grew more familiar with the area. Zeb was mostly focused on his food, but when Sabine ran out of things to ask he immediately brought up Phantom.  
"So, have you seen Phantom yet?" Zeb questioned casually in between bites of ham.  
"No, I haven't seen him yet, but I've heard plenty about him. The Sheriff is thinking of letting me handle his case, although I might just look into it anyway. I think I can catch him, I don't believe that he is a ghost...it seems more plausible that he is some kid from a poor family who thinks that stealing to help his family get by is right." Kanan replied. "I did see his herd of horses though, the Ghost Herd. They seemed rather interested in Escape, wouldn't surprise me if I have to go looking for him tomorrow. He'll probably break out of the stables and go get some girlfriends tonight."  
"They say that the Ghost Herd hasn't had a stallion since about five-six years ago. One day they had a stallion, the next they didn't." Hera added.  
"We've seen them around a lot too. They circle the town a lot but never really get close. Hera's absolutely in love with the Ghost though! And Phantom can walk right through the herd without any of the horses so much as glancing at him! Hera thinks it's because he's the only human who has gained their trust, but I think that if he gained their trust that they would be more open to other people. What do you think?" Sabine asked eagerly.  
"I don't know. That does sound rather strange though...I'll look into that and see if I can figure out why they're like that, but first I'll be working on my first case." Kanan responded, briefly glancing at Hera to see what she was making of all the Phantom talk. She looked very relaxed, he hoped that meant she wasn't planning on keeping Phantom if they managed to catch him.  
"You've already got you're first case?" Hera glanced up from her plate, "I thought you didn't start work until Monday."  
"I don't, but the sheriff wanted me to be able to get to work first thing Monday. Plus, it looks like an interesting case. I haven't looked at it in depth yet, but it looks like there might be some missing information in the file, and some incorrectly recorded data. I might work on it some over the weekend, but I'll probably spend most of my time chasing Escape. He's eager to meet a herd of mares with no other stallion to challenge him...” Kanan sighed, “He’s always been a natural escape artist.”  
“You seem rather sure that Escape will break out of the barn, but I don’t think so.” Hera replied smugly, giving a Kanan a look that seemed to say that she had done something unexpected.  
“Why not? Did you board the doors up? Dig a moat around the barn? Put electric wire around the barn walls? Because I really don’t think any of that will stop him either.” Kanan joked, but remained unimpressed.  
“No, but I did rescue a mare from the Ghost herd.” Hera smirked, Kanan became immediately interested in where she was heading with this. “I’d been watching the herd for a while, she was lagging behind and wasn’t doing very well. She went down one day and I honestly thought that she’d finally gone to a peaceful resting place, but when Zeb and I went to bury her we realized she was still alive…barely. We brought her back here and nursed her back to health. She wouldn’t rejoin the herd when we cut her loose so now she’s a permanent resident here, and she gets along rather well with Chopper.”  
“That’s great!” Kanan admitted, although his mind was wandering toward the Ghost herd. It sounded like they would be easier to tame than he thought.  
Things began to slow down after dinner. They went out to the barn to check on Escape and Hera’s new horse, Shadow. Then they walked around the property with Chopper bounding ahead them, around them, and chasing squirrels every which way. No matter how long he stayed away from Chopper, Kanan always found that he never missed anything about the rusty colored mutt. There was just too much wildness in the dog…and attitude.  
Kanan knew he needed to leave soon. A strong wind was starting to blow storm clouds into the area and, according to Hera, the storms here were few and far between but violent. So, he said his farewells and hit the road, making it to his hotel barely a minute before the storm hit.  
In his room, Kanan did some minor unpacking and searched his laptop for potential properties he could buy. He sighed when he saw that there was no change in the search he’d done at least twenty times since last week. It was looking like the hotel was about to become his permanent home. With an exhausted yawn, he decided it was time to call it quits. He was asleep within five minutes, just as usual, despite the feeling deep inside him that told him this was going to be anything but a normal night.

Ezra waited in the shadows near the police station, waiting. About a week ago he’d heard the deputy talking about the sheriff hiring some detective from the Core Colonies, although he’d apparently spent more time in the Mid Rim than he had the Core. Ezra was eager to see what his new competition would be. All the detectives he’d faced in the past had hardly been a challenge to evade, he was hoping this one would change things up a bit.  
A bit of a beat-up black truck pulled into the station with a trailer hitched to the back. The man driving it stepped out, checked on his horse, and then entered the station. He had a ponytail, dark brown hair, and light-colored eyes. Ezra couldn’t tell exactly what color they were because he was too far away. The man was also tall and dressed almost like a true cowboy. Once he was inside the building, Ezra lost interest in him and became focused on the horse in the trailer. He was a beautiful silvery white stallion with definite blue eyes. Ezra knew just by looking at him that he was a good horse. He wanted very badly to let the stallion loose as he would be a great stallion for the herd, but he knew that stealing horses held more punishment than stealing food.  
Ezra sighed and turned away from the station. He’d probably just find out where the stallion was staying and let him loose there. Then the stallion could run with his mares until his owner came for him. Then Ezra’s Ghost Herd could have the first foals they would have had in years, without him technically stealing someone’s horse to get the foals.  
It would be nice to see the Ghost’s Herd continue. For the last couple years Ezra had begun to grow worried that they would die out before he found a suitable stallion for them, but now he had a plan. All he needed was the opportunity and some88…  
As Ezra was wandering through the backstreets of Capital City, he noticed an Imperial agent nearby. A mischievous smile spread across Ezra’s face as he pulled a bandana over his mouth and nose and tugged his cowboy hat down to shadow his eyes. Then he made his move. Walking with his head bowed, Ezra approached the Imperial who didn’t realize Ezra was there until he bumped into him.  
“Watch where you’re going you Lothrat!” The Imperial hissed, not noticing that Ezra had grabbed his wallet right out of his pocket.  
“Sorry, sir,” Ezra replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “but I don’t regret bumping into you, bucket head!” Before the Imperial could say anything or try to grab him, Ezra had ducked out of reach and disappeared down a dark back alley. Imperials never seized to amaze him when it came to being incredibly stupid.  
When Ezra found a quiet place to stop, he counted the money. Three twenties, two tens, a five, and seven ones-a total of ninety-two dollars. Ezra smiled happily, that was a good sum. Normal people were smart and only carried about forty or fifty dollars in their pocket, wallet, or purse, but Imperials were stupid and carried however much they pleased which made them great targets for Ezra.  
Ezra left the wallet behind, but pocketed the money. Then he made his way to the edge of town where the Ghost quickly made her way to him. She had her herd grazing nearby, but she seemed uneasy. Knowing that there was a stallion in town, Ezra expected her to be excited but he knew there were some things that would shy away even Ghost from a date and one of those things were storms. Big storms, not just little thunderstorms that kept the ground wet for a day or two. Thunderstorms that howled like a pack of fifty wolves and raged like an angry mother bear; thunderstorms that when lightning struck it would make the ground shake and it would pour so much rain onto the earth that the rivers and streams would be flooded over for at least a week if not longer. A quick glance at the sky would tell a normal person that it was a beautiful day, but Ezra could see on the horizon a dark cloud approaching fast. There had been a pleasant breeze all day long, but a pleasant breeze usually meant high winds up ahead. The storm would be here by nightfall if not sooner, there was no doubt in Ezra’s mind about that. The only doubt he had was if his shack in the woods would keep him dry, he didn’t think it would. He could stay at the hotel though, he probably had enough cash on him to sleep there with no questions asked…probably.  
Everything was fine until Ezra got to the hotel, where he saw the beat-up black truck. He panicked for a second, worrying that the new detective was in his truck and had possibly seen him. Then he realized that he was not in the truck and that the stallion was gone, Ezra hoped that Cowboy Ponytail had not sold him.  
That did not completely rule out the hotel though. Ezra smugly grinned as he made his way to the back of the hotel and looked up, there were still the balconies. He did not hesitate to start climbing up from balcony to balcony all the way to the top as he knew the hotel rarely filled the top rooms. When he made it to the top, which didn’t take long as the hotel was only three stories high, he paused to catch his breath and take in the view. Many didn’t find Lothal’s dry, barren plains much of a view, but there was a serene, peaceful feel to it for Ezra.  
It didn’t take long for the storm to get there after Ezra had made it to the top of the hotel. The Ghost and her herd had already taken to the hills where they would be protected by valleys and hidden caves that only they knew of. With the herd safe and with himself out of the rain, Ezra curled up in the corner of the balcony to rest. He would need the energy tomorrow if he faced the new detective.


	2. Chapter 2

     Thunder booming outside…

     _Bombs going off around the house, trapping them inside…_

Lightning flashing outside the window…

     _Fire igniting and spreading, smoke making it hard to see…to breath...._

Howling wind, battering the window…

     _Her yelling at him to go, to **run** …_

Rain pounding on the roof and windows…

     _Machine guns tearing up the dirt behind him as he did what he was told, and ran…_

The shriek of a terrified animal…

     _Letting out a cry of alarm…and fear…and regret… Her last word, he knew it was her last word, “Run!”_

Kanan woke with a start, the memories of that dark day still emblazoned in his memory. He laid there, waiting for his breathing to return to normal. It was hard for him to believe that a storm could bring the memories he’d surprised deep down inside back up to the surface. Why couldn’t they just sink to the bottom of his memory? To the deepest, darkest part of his brain-never to return? Why couldn’t he just forget them?

     Kanan sighed and pulled himself up into a sitting position. He knew why the memories kept coming back, because he felt guilty. And how could he not? A long time ago he had been a boy following someone who he trusted with his life, she gave her life to save him only for him to forget what she had taught and start fending for himself…that was why he felt guilty, why the memories kept bubbling back to the surface. If she could see him now she would surely be disappointed.

     He glanced outside toward the sky, looking for some sign that there were still stars behind the storm clouds that refused to let up on the rain. He saw nothing. Kanan knew that Depa could see him, that she was in Heaven. She’d told him that in Heaven there was only happiness, but he found that hard to believe. How could she be happy knowing that the child she had given everything for had abandoned everything she had taught him?

     A heavy sigh pulled Kanan’s line of sight away from the stormy sky; however, as he lowered his head and moved to roll over so that he could try to go back to sleep he noticed something pressed up against the glass window leading out to the balcony. Kanan knew from his life as Caleb that curiosity could be dangerous, and was almost always deadly. Yet here he was, throwing caution to the wind and climbing out of bed to get a closer look at the mysterious… _thing_ that was sheltering itself under the cover of the balcony.

     Upon closer examination, Kanan realized that the thing on the balcony wasn’t some sort of animal like he originally thought it was, but a boy. The kid was curled up in a tight ball and he was drenched from the rain. He looked thin and malnourished, maybe somewhere from ten to twelve years of age, but Kanan knew that the streets could be deceptive and so he put the kid closer to thirteen or fourteen. Kanan himself had once been a street rat, he knew that looking younger, looking more innocent was a side effect of not knowing where your next meal would come from or if someone would steal the money a kind soul gave you so that you could get something to eat. Looking younger had its advantages because more people wanted to help you, more people had compassion on you; and yet, it was often their downfall. Street rats had to rely very heavily on their wit, agility, and speed because getting strong simply wasn’t something that could happen out there unless they could somehow find a way to eat well every day and find the time to work out without getting caught by the police for running away.

     Kanan sighed as he watched the kid sleep. He knew it was his responsibility as a police officer to bring the kid in, but he also knew that most kid’s ran away for a reason. Very few of the street rats he had met had ever run away just because they were brats who wanted to do whatever they wanted. Despite his job, Kanan had once been a street rat too…and sometimes, even though they didn’t know each other, street rats would help each other. So, in this scenario, Kanan decided to not turn the kid in or try to bring him in. Instead, he would help the kid out a bit.

     Kanan grabbed a towel to dry the kid off with the intent of letting him spend the night inside. He opened the door and draped the towel over the street rat, and instantly felt the breath knocked out of him. Kanan didn’t see what hit him, but he had a pretty good idea of a certain someone it could have been. The street rat must have gone into a deeper sleep than he was used to, not thinking that anyone could have been on the top floor of the hotel to disturb him.

     The kid now stood a few feet away, somewhat crouched so that he was a smaller target and so that it would be easier to slip past Kanan without getting caught. The kid was obviously a quick-thinker, but unfortunately for him, Kanan was faster. Kanan had been thinking fast for his entire life, a kid wasn’t going to beat him at a game quick-wits. “Hey kid, catch!” Kanan said suddenly, throwing the now rolled up tow to the kid. When the kid caught it, it blocked his eyesight of Kanan for a few short seconds allowing Kanan to lunge at the kid and grab him. It was obvious that Kanan had caught the kid off guard because as soon as he wrapped his arms around him the kid yelped in surprise and started trying to wriggle out of Kanan’s grasp.

     “Let go of me!” The kid hissed, attempting to push Kanan’s arms away long enough for him to get in a good kick or be able to slip through his fingers.

     “I just want to help you! I promise I’m not going to turn you into the cops!” Kanan explained.

     “Wha? Then why’d you grab me?” The kid asked, still struggling but with less vigor as he was interested in hearing Kanan’s reply.

      Kanan instantly let go of the kid and took a step back. “Impulsive thinking, sorry.” The kid eyed Kanan warily, but was visibly more relaxed. His body wasn’t as tense and Kanan could see in his eyes that he seemed to be weighing the odds of Kanan being trustworthy or not. “At the very least you’ll get a cold from getting soaked to the bone, if you’re lucky.” Kanan added, knowing this from his days on the streets. “If you’re not lucky you’ll probably get hypothermia or pneumonia and then you’ll most definitely get caught.” Kanan offered the kid the towel again except not in a way that indicated that he was potentially going to throw it at him again to try to catch him.

     “Alright…I guess.” The kid accepted the towel skeptically and wrapped it around his shoulders.

     The kid followed Kanan inside and was surprised when Kanan offered him two pillows off the bed as well a spare blanket. He dried off as much as he could with the towel and then made himself a bed on the floor near the balcony, more than likely because he didn’t want his number one escape route to be cut off. While he was drying off and making himself a floor bed, Kanan managed to slip out of the room and run down to a vending machine at the end of the hallway on his floor. He bought two bottles of water and a handful of snacks then hurried back so as not to alarm the kid into thinking that he had gone for the police.

     The sound of the door clicking shut startled the teen whose front had been turned away from the door when Kanan had reentered the room. As soon as he heard the tiny click, he had whirled around and pulled a six-inch hunting knife out of some hidden recess in either his boots or his jacket. He lowered the blade a little when he saw it was Kanan, but he appeared to be suspicious of Kanan once more. “Where were you?” He asked cautiously, though his focus on being concerned with not getting caught seemed to dissolve when he saw the armload of food Kanan was carrying.

     ‘Thought you might be hungry.” Kanan replied with a shrug, trying to appear nonchalant because the knife had startled him a bit and if he looked startled or acted weird the kid might bolt thinking that he had called the police. He casually walked over to the desk and dumped the food onto it, then with a smile he added, “Have at it.”

     “Uh, thanks.” The kid said in a gentle tone. He tucked the knife back into a secret pocket in his jacket and met Kanan at the desk, but with great reluctance. It was clear that he wanted the food, but not the human interaction that came with it. That made it very clear for Kanan that this kid had been on the streets for at least two years, maybe more. This kid had grown to be cautious and careful because wherever he had run away from, he did not want to go back!

     “You know, I lived on the streets back in the day, quite a bit too.” Kanan wondered aloud. “Ran away a lot…”

     “Really? What changed?” The kid asked, his interest peaked. Now that the kid knew he was dealing with one of his kind, a fellow street rat-someone who understood why he chose the streets over a home, he became completely relaxed. He even seemed open to a full out conversation now!

     “I met someone who wanted to help me,” Kanan admitted, surprised that he was bringing Depa up so easily. Usually he found it hard to talk about her to others…, “someone who wouldn’t give up on me no matter how much I tried to push her away.” Perhaps it was easier talking to him because he was a street rat too, because he understood what it was like to be in a tough situation and how good it felt to have someone help you watch your back. “No matter how many times I ran away, she’d always take me back. Even if I screwed up she still wouldn’t let me go.”

     “She sounds nice.” The kid said glumly. Kanan guessed that he had once been with someone as caring as Depa, but something happened that took him away from her just like someone took Depa away from him. Both hadn’t been very trusting after having the one person or persons taken away from that truly cared about them as if they were their own children.

     “Yeah, she was nice.” Kanan sighed heavily, not liking how far down the mood was traveling. He changed the subject and this time asked the kid a question. “So what about you? Are you from around here or what? What’s your story?”

     The kid tensed up a little, hesitant to share but not totally unwilling to have someone hear his story...especially since Kanan was someone who might understand. “I’ve lived in Lothal my whole life.” The kid answered slowly, watching Kanan carefully for any sign that might indicate that he didn’t understand his side of the story. “My parents were killed when I was only seven years old…” Kanan’s heart dropped to his stomach as he realized that his earlier speculations were wrong. The kid hadn’t been on the streets for two or three years, he’d been on them since he was seven! He wondered why the kid had never tried out a foster home though…or was the killer still on the loose? “I ran away because the killer was going to kill me too, but my parents fought them so I could get away and I guess one day let everyone know the truth of what happened.” Kanan nodded, so the killer was still on the loose…only it wasn’t one murderer, but several. “They killed my parents to get the horses my parents bred, trained, and raced.” The kid paused a moment to let out a shaky breath as he relived the memory of that terrible day. “When I escaped, I ran from my house to our barn. Then I saw them coming from the house to the barn. So, I opened all of the stall doors, climbed onto to the back of the stallion of our herd, opened the back doors to the barn, and galloped off into the woods never to be heard from again.”

     “Sounds like quite the adventure.” Kanan pointed out, hundreds of questions swirling through his mind. He only chose to ask one. “So how’d you survive out there? I mean you were only seven years old and living out in the wilderness… Surely you had to have help!”

     “I have a contact…” The kid replied carefully, “mostly for when I can’t get anything. See my parents taught me how to hunt, trap, and fish. I can do some basic sewing and cooking, enough to keep me out of town. I don’t usually steal a whole lot, only when things aren’t going well with the hunting, trapping, fishing, or when the sewing is too big a job for me to handle. Most of my thefts range through late fall, winter, and early spring. Summer’s the best time of the year for me because it’s easy to find food and no one really misses two or three eggs then…heck I even got away with a chicken once!”

     “Sounds like you’ve been busy out there.” Kanan mentioned, the kid nodded. “I’m Kanan, by the way, Detective Kanan Jarrus.” Kanan reached out to shake the kid’s hand, but the kid had pulled away from him.

     “Detective?” He asked, although the way he said it sounded more like an accusation. Clearly, he was afraid of Kanan coming to Lothal to catch him, him specifically.

     “Yeah,” Kanan started awkwardly, placing his hand back at his side so as not to make the kid feel any more threatened, “I start work at the police station next Monday. I’m mostly here to take some of the stress off of Sheriff Tano. I’ll be working a lot of old cases that were never solved, they seem to be a specialty of mine.”

     “Really? So you’re on the force and yet you’re not going to bring me in?” The kid questioned. It looked like the kid was getting ready to make a break for the balcony. His trust of police had to have been tainted…Kanan wondered of the people who murdered his parents had anything to do with it.

     “I was a street rat too once.” Kanan shrugged. “I understand what it’s like to be in your shoes, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll always be like this. For now, you can expect me to turn the other cheek and pretend you’re not there, but if I see you stealing then I will take action. Deal?”

     “Sounds fair.” The kid nodded. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal. We can have a mutual relationship unless you catch me stealing…I like those odds.” This time it was the kid who reached his hand out for Kanan to shake, Kanan was slightly shocked.

     “So, do you have a name? A nickname? Something I can call you other than kid?” Kanan asked as they shook on their mutual agreement.

     The kid seemed to consider the question for a moment before actually answering it. “Most people around here call me Phantom.” Kanan’s heart skipped a beat. Phantom? The kid Asohka, Hera, Zeb, and Sabine had all been talking about. He’d stolen nearly ten thousand dollars’ worth of stuff! He was said to be a wandering spirit! But Kanan had touched him! He could catch him and bring him in... But he’d made a promise, and the Phantom didn’t seem too bad a kid. Plus, he would probably see him stealing something later and then he’d be able to bring him in. Simple as that…hopefully. “Hey, ponytail? You still with me?” Phantom asked, shaking his hand in front of Kanan’s face.

     “Yeah, sorry, I zoned out a bit that’s all. You just kind of caught me off guard.” Kanan replied. “Phantom, huh? Some of my friends said they’ve seen you around, and that most people around here think you’re some kind of ghost or spirit or whatever.”

     “I might as well be.” Phantom shrugged his shoulders. “No one knows my real name. I haven’t used it ever since my parents died. If I need to use a name I have an alias I use…and I wear a rather convincing disguise. I could walk through the middle of town and no one would ever know that the Phantom had brushed their shoulder or snatched their wallet.” Phantom laughed lightly. “It’s hilarious, really. People are so convinced that I’m nothing more than a figment of the imagination and an old wives tale mixed together so that they can make up stories about me.”

     “Really? Like what?” Kanan pressed, curious to see what kind of tall tales people were coming up with for Phantom.

     “I heard one the other night that was good, ‘Eat all the food on your plate or else the Phantom will feed your leftovers to the wild animals and steal your money and your most prized possession to add to the Golden Horde in the Vault of the Spirit’.” Phantom sighed and shook his head. “I almost wish that one was true…it would be awesome if it was.”

     “Why?” Kanan wanted to know more, but it was a little past midnight. They needed to be getting some sleep.

     “Eh, I’ll save that story for another time. You might have to remind me though. Golden Horde and Vault of the Spirit, they’re two super old legends focused around this area of the Outer Rim.” Phantom yawned and went for his bed in the floor. “Thanks for the food by the way, it’s been a while since I last had a Snickers bar…although for future reference, I’m more of a Milky Way kind of guy.”

     “Got that.” Kanan noted as he got back into his bed. “See you in the morning.”

     Phantom huffed in disbelief. “If you’re even up that early. Goodnight, cowboy.”

     “Cowboy? Really?” Kanan shook his head.

     “You look like one.” Phantom yawned, rolling over so that his back was facing the door.

     “You know, you’re really something Phantom.” Kanan said with a light laugh.

     “Yeah, I know.” Phantom replied in an almost inaudible whisper. “I know…”

* * *

      Ezra didn’t realize how tired he was until he settled down to sleep. The balcony wasn’t the most comfortable place for resting, but it was dry and it rarely had any visitors. Or so he thought. He figured that he should have known that he would be discovered after the wind started pushing the rain inward so that he was being pelted with rather large water droplets. It only made sense that he would be discovered, especially when you considered his luck…or his lack of it when it came circumstances like these. Why was it that he had all the luck in the world when escaping people, but when it came to surviving he had less than no luck…he had negative luck.

     When the rain began to hit him, Ezra merely curled into a tighter ball. He didn’t feel like worrying about it right then, plus there wasn’t much he could do about it except maybe smash open one of the windows and take shelter inside, but he didn’t feel like setting off any intruder alarms on a night where if he had to run it meant running in pouring rain. It didn’t take long, after Ezra had repositioned himself, for him to drift into a deeper sleep than he would usually dare to let himself slip into. He didn’t expect for his sleep to be interrupted, the worst thing that could happen, that had happened, was the rain. Right? There was no way anything else could go wrong! Right? Wrong.

     It didn’t take but a second, just a tiny touch of something other than rain, for Ezra to wake up and realize that someone was standing over him. He knew in a heartbeat that he was cornered without enough room to pull out his knife. Ezra did the only thing he could think of to gain some breathing room and he kicked, as hard as he could, the man standing over him and successfully sent the man stumbling a few steps back.

     Ezra crouched lightly just in case the guy lunged at him and he needed to make a quick dodge out of the way. The guy didn’t look like he was about to lung, but he did look like he was planning something. It wasn’t just the fact that the guy was up to whatever he was considering doing, but the fact that he looked so familiar but unable to recognize that made Ezra so uneasy. He just couldn’t place where he’d seen that face before… Ezra decided that he didn’t want to wait to see what the guy was planning, but right before he went to leave the man grabbed the towel and exclaimed, “Hey kid, catch!” The move caught Ezra off guard. Catch? Why would the guy throw him the towel? He could have very easily handed it to him. The purpose of the man throwing the towel became evident just a second too late for Ezra. By the time he had realized what was happening, the man had already wrapped his arms around him to keep Ezra from escaping.

     The man had to have known that Ezra was going to try to escape, that he was going to struggle like a mad animal to get away, because he was managing to avoid getting hit and was able to keep his hold on Ezra. “Let me go!” Ezra hissed, as he tried to pry the man’s arms off of him.

     “I just want to help you! I promise I’m not going to turn you into the police!” The man sounded sincere, but the fact was he still had Ezra in his grasp. Ezra wasn’t buying it.

     “Wha? Then why’d you grab me?” Ezra asked, pausing in his struggles to look at the man like, _“Seriously dude? Not going to turn me in? Then why in the world did you grab me?”_

     The man immediately let him go and took a few steps back. “Sorry,” he said genuinely, “impulsive thinking.” Ezra examined him closely for any indication that he was just saying that to catch him off guard again, but the man was visibly relaxed so he couldn’t be preparing to attack again. Still, how was Ezra to know if he could trust him? The man looked Ezra up and down for a second, Ezra thought the guy was sizing him up to figure out how he would catch him. “At the very least you’ll get a cold from getting soaked to the bone, if you’re lucky.” The man said suddenly. He sounded like he knew that for a fact, from experience or something like that. “If you’re not lucky you’ll probably get hypothermia or pneumonia and then you’ll most definitely get caught.” He added, this time holding the towel out without the intent of throwing it.

     Ezra was skeptical of trusting him, but…he made a good point. “Alright…I guess.” Ezra said, cautiously accepting the towel from the guy and wrapping it around his torso. He followed the stranger into the hotel room and was rather shocked when the guy offered him two of the pillows off of the bed as well as a spare blanket.  Ezra started to dry himself off and then worked on making himself a bed in the floor. He hadn’t slept in an actual bed, or anything as close to it as a floor bed, ever since the day he’d lost his parents.

     Just as Ezra was about to slip under the cover, the door to the hallway clicked. Instantly Ezra’s survival instincts kicked in and he spun around with lightning speed while whipping out his hunting knife, his heart pounding as he saw the man in the doorway with an armload of stuff. He was silent as his mind jumped to conclusions as to why the guy had left the room. The first answer that came to mind was that he had left the room to call the police; however, the food in his arms contradicted that idea because there was no way he had enough time to do both… Was there? He settled with asking a simple question and watching how the man reacted. “Where were you?” Ezra’s eyes were filled with anger, anger and fear. Anger for the guy more than likely calling the police and fear of getting caught, but wanting to risk staying a little longer to get the food.

     “Thought you might be hungry.” The man shrugged carelessly. He walked over to the table and dumped the armload of food onto it. “Have at it.”

     Ezra was silent for a moment, not really judging the guy to find out if he was lying but rather scolding himself for jumping to conclusions. It wasn’t this guy’s fault for wanting to help him…why did this guy want to help him? Not sure how to respond, Ezra went with a simple and dumb sounding, “Uh, thanks.” He joined the guy at the table, putting his knife back in his vest, and nearly cried at the sight of some of the food. The last time he had a Snickers was a little over eight years ago, at Christmas with his parents. He decided to save the granola bar and trail mix for later, they would be good to have for emergencies. That just left a bag of potato chips, a bag of pretzels, and two bottles of water. He’d save one bottle for later, drink one tonight and fill it back up before he left in the morning. The unopened bottle he would save for his emergency store, mostly for winter rather than an emergency though. Winter made things a lot harder for him, but he had taught himself how to cope with the harsh environment at that time of year.

     “You know, I lived on the streets back in the day, quite a bit too.” The man spoke up suddenly, somewhat startling Ezra out of his thoughts. “Ran away a lot…”

     Ezra couldn’t believe it. This guy was working with the Lothal Police and he had grown up on the streets? How? Something had to have happened, and judging by how fit and smart the guy was Ezra guessed that it had to be something good. “Really?” He asked, curiosity was going to be the death of him! “What changed?”

     “I met someone who wanted to help me…” The guy hesitated, as if the memory brought back pain. Despite that, Ezra couldn’t help but feel like the man was only saying that to convince him into trusting the guy. The man opened his mouth to continue, but seemed to be struggling to find the words. “someone who wouldn’t give up on me no matter how much I pushed her away.” The guy sighed and looked over at Ezra who could see the look of longingness in his eyes. Ezra recognized that look very easily because it was the same look he carried with himself after losing his parents. Whoever had helped this guy, whoever had been there for him, wasn’t there anymore… The thought made it hard for Ezra to feel very hungry anymore, he felt like he should be grieving for her, whoever she was. “No matter how many times I ran away, she’d always take me back. Even if I screwed up she still wouldn’t let me go.”

     “She sounds nice.” Ezra said in a low voice. She sounded a lot like his parents. His father stern, but in the way that any good father would be because all he wanted to do was raise his son to be the best man that he could be; and his mother ever so caring, loving him no matter what he did and reprimanding him when he did something wrong. He missed them. He felt like he missed them more than the guy helping him missed whoever had taken care of him.

     “Yeah, she was nice.” The guy sighed heavily, clearly not to thrilled about how down their conversation had brought the mood. Ezra watched him for a second and was almost startled when his eyes brightened and a light smile spread across his lips. “So what about you? Are you from around here or what? What’s your story?”

     Ezra felt his whole body go into alarm and he was pretty sure it was a visible transformation. Why did that guy care about where he’d come from? Then again, the guy had given his story, and he seemed trustworthy enough… “I’ve lived in Lothal my whole life.” Ezra started carefully. He wanted to tell his story without giving too much information about who he was to this guy. Even if this guy was a good person trying to help, he was still a stranger, and until Ezra knew more about him he felt that it was best to watch where he stepped. “My parents were killed when I was only seven-years-old…” Ezra’s head was bowed and his eyes were lightly closed as he remembered that dreaded day. He glanced at the man to see his reaction and saw pity in the man’s eyes, he felt sorry for him just like anyone else who heard his story most likely would. No one should lose their parents when they are only seven-years-old, no one should ever lose their parents like he had, and yet it still happened… “I ran away because the killer was going to kill me too, but my parents fought them so I could get away and I guess one day let everyone know the truth of what happened.” Ezra still didn’t know how he was going to do that though, the Imperials were stupid but they also came in numbers. Not to mention the fact that some of them had friends in high places… “They killed my parents to get the horses my parents bred, trained, and raced.” Ezra fought to control his breathing, he didn’t want to cry in front of this stranger. He didn’t want the man to think he was weak because it would give the guy leverage over him! It was hard to hold those emotions in though, especially since he felt like he was going to fail his parents. He didn’t have the first clue on how to bring justice to his parent’s deaths, and all he had done with the Imperials was tick them off! Ezra hadn’t even made a dent on the Imperials…so how was he going to be able to do anything about what happened to his parents? “When I escaped, I ran from my house to our barn. Then I saw them coming from the house to the barn. So, I opened all of the stall doors, climbed onto to the back of the stallion of our herd, opened the back doors to the barn, and galloped off into the woods never to be heard from again.” Ezra’s eyes were closed again. He could see the Imperial assassins clothed in black and wearing masks approaching the barn. One had blood on their hands from wrestling somebody, probably his father, another held a knife that had a reddish sheen to it, more than likely covered in his mother’s blood, and the third had suffered a bullet wound to one shoulder and a knife in his arm. The third had been meant for him, but his parents wouldn’t let anyone touch their son. They didn’t worry about the people sent to kill them, they only cared about the man who was going to try to kill their son! Before the assassins were close enough to know what was happening, Ezra had already opened the back of the barn and was riding away with the herd that had ruled in competitions and would now rule in the wild, never to know human ownership again…

     “Sounds like quite an adventure.” The man said after a short period of silence. Ezra could tell that his story had left more questions than it had answers, and that the man wanted to know more. He thought that the man would barrage him with questions, but he only asked, “So how’d you survive out there? I mean you were only seven years old and living out in the wilderness… Surely you had to have help!”

     “I have a contact…” Ezra replied warily, not planning on giving the man any indicators on who his contact was. Mainly because if he discovered his contact, he could possible discover his name and who he really was. He was even more careful about what he said next, “mostly for when I can’t get anything. See my parents taught me how to hunt, trap, and fish. I can do some basic sewing and cooking, enough to keep me out of town. I don’t usually steal a whole lot, only when things aren’t going well with the hunting, trapping, fishing, or when the sewing is too big a job for me to handle. Most of my thefts range through late fall, winter, and early spring. Summer’s the best time of the year for me because it’s easy to find food and no one really misses two or three eggs then…heck I even got away with a chicken once!”

     “Sounds like you’ve been busy out there.” The man mentioned thoughtfully, Ezra absentmindedly nodded in agreement as the man continued. “I’m Kanan, by the way, Detective Kanan Jarrus.” The man, Kanan, reached out to shake Ezra’s hand, but Ezra had warning bells ringing in his head. He pulled back. Detective? Detective usually came to catch people that were harder to catch than most…

     “Detective?” Ezra questioned, wanting to know more. Why was he here? Who was he here for? When would he leave? Would he even leave?

     “Yeah,” Kanan answered a bit awkwardly, bringing his hand back to his side, “I start work at the police station next Monday. I’m mostly here to take some of the stress off of Sheriff Tano. I’ll be working a lot of old cases that were never solved, they seem to be a specialty of mine.”

     Ezra nodded, feeling a little more at ease. He would be focusing on cold cases, not current criminals. Then again, he had been on the streets for nearly eight years…though he’d only been stealing for around seven years. Was that far enough in the past that it could count for a cold case? “Really? So you’re on the force and yet you’re not going to bring me in?” Ezra asked, wanting to be certain that he wouldn’t be waking up in a prison cell. Kanan may have been hired as a detective, but that didn’t mean he would completely ignore Ezra…If Kanan tried to catch Ezra, then Ezra knew his new friend would become an enemy and the chances of them being nice would vanish as quickly as he had after his parent’s death.

     “I was a street rat too once.” Kanan replied, appearing nonchalant. “I understand what it’s like to be in your shoes, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll always be like this. For now, you can expect me to turn the other cheek and pretend you’re not there, but if I see you stealing then I will take action. Deal?”

     “Sounds fair.” Ezra nodded. What Kanan said made sense. He had been a street rat once, and judging on his actions he wanted to help any street rat he met, but now that he had a job he had responsibilities. So he operated on the terms of helping street rats where he could and turning them in if he happened to catch them stealing. It seemed fair enough. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal. We can have a mutual relationship unless you catch me stealing…I like those odds.” Ezra knew that the chances of Kanan catching him stealing something were about as high as bringing justice to his parent’s death. With those odds in mind, Ezra felt like he had just made a new ally. This time he allowed Kanan to shake his hand, catching Kanan slightly off-guard when he offered him his hand. Kanan clearly hadn’t been expecting to get that close to Ezra, probably because of the tussle on the balcony.

     “So, do you have a name? A nickname? Something I can call you other than kid?” Kanan asked as they shook hands in agreement over their deal.

     Ezra thought about the question very carefully before deciding to answer it. Who he was…that was something he had been hiding for years to keep himself safe. Kanan might be his friend now, but that could change. It was best to let Kanan call him what everyone else called him for now, “Most people around here call me Phantom.” Ezra noticed Kanan tense up a second, well, not really tense…more like startled. It was possible that Kanan had heard of him before, after all, Ezra wasn’t really an unpopular guy. He’d robbed practically every Imperial or Imperial sympathizer in Lothal at least once. “Hey, ponytail? You still with me?” Ezra asked after letting Kanan have a few moments to himself to get his head around the fact that the Phantom was standing right in front of him. He chose to wave his hand in front of Kanan’s face just for the fun of it. Ezra had remembered seeing people do that in the cartoons he’d watched as a kid.

     “Yeah, sorry, I zoned out a bit that’s all. You just kind of caught me off guard.” Kanan replied, his voice kind of shaky. Ezra stifled a snort of amusement at Kanan’s shock. “Phantom, huh? Some of my friends said they’ve seen you around, and that most people around here think you’re some kind of ghost or spirit or whatever.”

     “I might as well be.” Ezra replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The fact that hardly anyone had ever touched him and that he never left a trace behind was rather eerie…or just clever. He chose to let people think he was a ghost, it worked to his advantage anyway. “No one knows my real name. I haven’t used it ever since my parents died. If I need to use a name I have an alias I use…and I wear a rather convincing disguise. I could walk through the middle of town and no one would ever know that the Phantom had brushed their shoulder or snatched their wallet.” Ezra chuckled as he thought back to a few occasions where he’d doubled back after snatching a wallet to watch the person he stole it from realize that they were missing his/her wallet six hours later! “It’s hilarious, really. People are so convinced that I’m nothing more than a figment of the imagination and an old wives tale mixed together so that they can make up stories about me.”

     “Really? Like what?” Kanan asked. Ezra could tell that he was interested in the ghost stories, and who wouldn’t be? They made for some excellent campfire stories! He knew because he eavesdropped on a couple campsites in the past, mostly so that when everyone went to sleep he could rummage through their stuff for food and whatnot then the people would blame it on wildlife.

     “I heard one the other night that was good, ‘Eat all the food on your plate or else the Phantom will feed your leftovers to the wild animals and steal your money and your most prized possession to add to the Golden Horde in the Vault of the Spirit’.” Ezra sighed wishfully, if only the legend of the Golden Horde was true. It could turn his life around completely. “I almost wish that one was true…it would be awesome if it was.”

     “Why?” Kanan pressed. If Kanan had been sitting on a seat, then he would have been sitting on the edge of it…and then he would have fallen off after what Ezra said next.

     “Eh, I’ll save that story for another time. You might have to remind me though. Golden Horde and Vault of the Spirit, they’re two super old legends focused around this area of the Outer Rim.” Ezra yawned and laid down in his bed in the floor, he’d grab the rest of the food on the table in the morning. “Thanks for the food by the way, it’s been a while since I last had a Snickers bar…although for future reference, I’m more of a Milky Way kind of guy.”

     “Got that.” Kanan responded as he went back to his bed. “See you in the morning.”

     Ezra scoffed in disbelief. As if! The chances of Kanan being up as early as Ezra got up were smaller than the chances of Ezra’s true identity being discovered! “If you’re even up that early, cowboy.”

     “Cowboy? Really?” Kanan asked from his bed on the other end of the room.

     “You look like one.” Ezra yawned and rolled over, he’d finally placed where he recognized Kanan from. Kanan was the cowboy with the nice horse he’d seen earlier…speaking of which…what had he done with the stallion? If Ezra was ever going to get him for the Ghost’s herd he’d have to figure out where the stallion was...

     “You know, you’re really something Phantom.” Kanan chuckled lightly. Ezra could picture him shaking his head in mock shame and thorough amusement.

     “Yeah, I know.” Ezra replied in a quiet tone, almost too soft to hear. “I know…”

**Author's Note:**

> I've done fanfiction work before on FanFiction.net but this is my first work on AO3. I'm a big Star Wars Nerd so you'll get a lot of Star Wars stuff from me. I also like AUs so you'll see a lot of those too.
> 
> Please let me know if you spot a typo or a grammatical error! I do my best to make sure that there are none, but there's always a couple that slip by me.
> 
> I like to ask my readers a question at the end of each chapter because it kind of helps me get to know my audience. You don't have to answer, but it would be cool if you did. :) I'll give you cookies if you answer it!....Which do you like better? Chocolate Chip (::)? Or Peanut Butter (#)? Or Sugar (O)?


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